At a glance
Communication and Collaboration from the Infection Control in Healthcare Personnel: Infrastructure and Routine Practices for Occupational Infection Prevention and Control Services (2019) guideline.
Recommendations
Additional Recommendations
For healthcare organization leaders and administrators
For occupational health services leaders and staff
Background
Effective internal communication and collaboration between OHS, other HCO departments, and HCP can enhance the safety of HCP and their patients12. OHS staff maintain effective communication pathways with a variety of departments, including:
- IPC services
- Clinical services
- Engineering and facility management services
- Environmental services
- HCO leaders and managers
- HCP representatives
- Human resources
- Information technology services
- Laboratory services
- Legal departments (e.g., risk management)
- Pharmacies
- Procurement and central supply services
- Quality assurance and accreditation committees
- Safety committees
- Volunteer departments
- Workers' compensation
Explicit communication and collaboration between OHS and other HCO departments, particularly IPC services, can improve HCP safety and the delivery of occupational IPC services. Multidisciplinary committees can assemble diverse expertise to address cross-cutting issues such as assessing and selecting Sharps with Engineered Sharps Injury Protection (SESIP)3; developing tools to document HCP declination of immunization and to increase immunization rates4; and improving the capture and reporting of HCP immunization data (see section 6. Immunization Programs).5
Communication and collaboration among OHS and supervisors, senior management, human resources, IPC services, legal departments, and HCP are necessary to decrease the likelihood of HCP reporting to work when ill and to encourage adherence to recommended work restrictions, when indicated1. Box 2. Examples of Possible Areas of Collaboration lists areas related to occupational IPC in which communication and collaboration can be important.
Barriers to effective communication and collaboration can include:
- dispersed staff and worksite locations (e.g., multi-hospital or healthcare setting network, contracted and off-site occupational health services), and
- different requirements for staff not directly employed by a facility, such as credentialed private practice physicians and contractors.
Additional areas for communication and collaboration are discussed in section 1. Leadership and Management.
Abbreviations
- CMS = Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- HCO = Healthcare Organization
- HCP = Healthcare Personnel
- IPC = Infection Prevention and Control
- OHS = Occupational Health Services
- OSHA = Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- PPE = Personal Protective Equipment
- SESIP = Sharps with Engineered Sharps Injury Protection
- TB = Tuberculosis
- Russi M, Buchta WG, Swift M, et al. Guidance for Occupational Health Services in Medical Centers. J Occup Environ Med. 2009 Nov;51(11):1e-18e.
- Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs: Communication and Coordination for Host Employers, Contractors, and Staffing Agencies. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Accessed August 20, 2019.
- Hooper J, Charney W. Creation of a safety culture: reducing workplace injuries in a rural hospital setting. AAOHN J. 2005 Sep;53(9):394-8.
- Bertin M, Scarpelli M, Proctor AW, et al. Novel use of the intranet to document health care personnel participation in a mandatory influenza vaccination reporting program. Am J Infect Control. 2007 Feb;35(1):33-7.
- Melia M, O'Neill S, Calderon S, et al. Development of a flexible, computerized database to prioritize, record, and report influenza vaccination rates for healthcare personnel. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2009 Apr;30(4):361-9.